


The Professor's Reading List for The Five Gods

by nojoking



Category: Chalion Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 18:36:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12018651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nojoking/pseuds/nojoking
Summary: Professor Vanil Reader had been working through all the available sources for secondary stories about Chalion.  The finished article included his own notes and thoughts as well.





	The Professor's Reading List for The Five Gods

The Professor’s Summary 

Professor Vanil Reader looked over the pile of papers arrayed on the desk. He was coming to the end of his efforts to compile a Secondary History of the Five Gods World and how the land of Chalion and its neighbours changed as the years rolled onwards. 

Just to be complete, and to avoid treading on the toes of the primary historian, Lady Bujold, he had only researched the stories which had been found that were additional to her text. But now he was coming to the end of his work, he had included over 85 stories. He often wondered in which dusty attic or old box of papers, the next story would be found. There was a trove at FanFiction, of which he knew the names and titles but he had not tracked down each of the original finders to give him authority to use the original texts. 

First nevertheless, were the few stories, almost myths, which he had pulled together as the first small section of his work – linking past eras with lands currently under the Chalion’s control. The second and major section dealt with the enormous changes which came about due to the three-way involvement of Lupe dy Cazaril, Royina Iselle and Royce Bergon. To his view, and that of some others, this marked a watershed between what was sometimes known as the Old Days and the growth of Greater Chalion as a trading nation determinedly intent on avoiding war – most especially their large neighbour to the south and east, Darthaca.

To a nation steeped in the lore and love of their Five Gods, the professor mused and allowed the Qadrenes their preference for merely Four, the repeated influence of so many Gods on a single man was astonishing. To his count, Cazaril had had extraordinarily close involvement with the Bastard, the Mother, the Daughter and the Father having originally been a soldier of the Son. 

He had pondered often on which was the best way to present his summary of the tales. At times, he preferred the strictly chronological, at others he placed the most significant first and treated others as mere appendices. This time, he decided to place all the Cazaril stories first (in a mostly chronological sequence) then to offer the more mythic tales of Shamen and the like. Which included the recently found Penric tales.

Vanil had made the decision, early in the process, that those who would be interested in this work alrerady had a firm knowledge of the original tales by Lady Bujold. The lesser tales, well he considered them so for being shorter and further away in time, of The Weald and Penric, those he knew might have been read less often and he had put them at the end; albeit that this was out of the strict chronological order he preferred. 

He looked once more at the long shelf where the stacks of stories currently waited. More than 80 piles, each with their own header page of his notes and comments. After the first lengthy effort to put them into order, he had published a draft paper for discussion by his colleagues. To his considerable surprise, there had been disagreement as to the presentation. There had been a firm message that there was a need for the professor’s own input and commentary rather than a strict and simple listing. 

Some while later, he had decided to alter his initial published placement of just three stories; and then some more and then some more. It was embarrassing to him and he hoped that all traces of the early version had been eliminated. He knew that others would still find cause to disagree with his sequence, finding clues as to date and relationship that he had missed. He knew that some stories defied accurate placement and where at his own decision. 

Other stories actually conflicted with each other – here he could do little other than make a note; and, he had decided not to actually make a comment but to leave that for another more scholarly review. His task, this time, was to get more people interested in reading the stories. Later, these readers might help with his self-allotted task of searching archives and attics for newly found long-lost stories which might fill the gaps. He was sad, at times, that he had himself found nothing of true significance. Snippets yes. The story of the lawyer Vrese, such a minor character, had been a good find, he thought. 

Once more he took up his pen.

The Secondary Tales of the Times of Lupe dy Cazaril in the Lands of the Five Gods. 

Vanil had changed this title so many times – but this time it would be going to the new printing presses. He smiled with growing excitement and wonder at his temerity in pulling so many stories into one package. 

He picked up the first few pages of his notes and checked what he had written so far. The professor had taken note of the criticism but, to his mind, what was on offer was now an annotated list rather than ‘just a list’. He did feel some pleasure that his comments could now be shared to a wider readership.

A Tale for a Cold Summer Night by Fabrisse  
One more version of the story of the Bastard is told. 

Now, collecting all the different versions of the world’s creation and of how the Bastard arrived on the scene, and what exactly the Bastard did then and after – now that would and could be another piece of research. Perhaps he would have to travel to distant lands and speak through vilely incompetent translators to hear nothing new. On the other hand, he could suggest such a task as a cumulative project to his next few better-travelled and willing-to-travel students. On the other hand, he could ask the Temple of the Bastard what stories they already had and if these had been collated into a readable package with source documents and academic annotations. On the other hand – four to his count – he could have a rest. 

Desuma's Way, A Tale of the World of the Five Gods by estowe  
Just prior to the rise of the Golden General, the Roknari had been driven to their coastal kingdoms and the archipelago by Quintarian forces, including the Chalionese. Within this world of major political and religious divisions were also the last of the landless knights who, only connected to kingdoms when convenient, had for centuries besieged individual, isolated castles in order to claim themselves lords. "Desuma's Way" is told from the point of view of a tall, dark-skinned, Roknari lady in waiting whose 15-year-old charge faces an arranged marriage with a Chalionese lord. Further complicating matters is the Father of Winter's use of the lady in waiting at "deaths in good season."

Chronicle by shimotsuki  
Dy Lutez is dead. What is left that Ista can do? Who can judge how mad is madness?  
The Golden General by Glishara  
Many years ago, there was a great hero, with a great destiny.... A father tells a Roknari child of the time not so long ago when Chalion’s death-magic turned the tide against Roknar.

Page Cazaril by tuval  
Page Cazaril, pining for the future Royina Ista, schemes to be close to her for one last evening. He knows how soon he is likely to be becoming a soldier of the Son. 

Vanil had come across these next tales as almost the first set of stories, five so far, that he had closely studied. Eventually he had decided that the passage of time and the probably oral tradition where these stories had likely begun had been the major factors in allowing slippages and minor inconsistencies to creep in. They all dealt with Cazaril at Gotorget, but Vanil considered that the general reader would be busy enjoying the stories and many of the points he now felt to be of small concern would slide past. 

To the Gates by Shanola22 (Shanola)  
Small adventures can become amusing table conversation - later. Thirty men delay the siege a little. Palli tarries with his horse. 

Bastard Weeps by sahiya  
During the siege of Gortoget, Cazaril and Palli share a Father's Day feast – with a rat. Palli then hears the words of betrayal but does not hear the reality.

Life, stripped of all luxuries by keerawa  
Looking back some time later; lines of poetry introduce tales of Gotorget’s siege.

Not a Drop to Drink by Altariel  
Cazaril at Gotorget. His new lady grants a prayer, in the way that Gods do, dangerously. 

The Last Justicar by wired  
Caz is perplexed that someone has gone before him in the cells at Gortoget. 

Someday by firefly124  
A bare notelet from Iselle’s childhood memory - Iselle wonders about the processions in her future. 

What It Would Be Like by Merfilly  
A reflective moment for young Iselle – what does it mean to be a Royina.

Moments by unbidden_truth  
Three moments between Betriz and Iselle. Three moments before their lives would change. Three moments before Caz arrived at Valoret. 

The professor had satisfied himself with the sequence so far. He was always a little troubled when a lost tale came in segments which overlapped and underlapped timewise with another. In general, he had decided, the readers were bright enough to cope with a little hiccup in the timeline, here and there. 

He had put in a sub-heading at this point : STORIES DURING CURSE OF CHALION. As everyone knew, the original stories by the Lady Bujold took priority over all others. He had his own beliefs that, now and again, even these had minor discrepancies but it would do his own reputation no good to voice such minor quibbles. Well, at least not without real proof. And where was he going to find that except in her own works, commentaries and recorded conversations. 

No future by nojoking  
Cazaril drags his body along the track - thinking too little too late.

Three Chalion Drabbles by shimotsuki  
Three character studies at Valoret: the Provincara, Betriz, and Iselle.

Gods in their Seasons by fresne 

Vanil found especial pleasure in reading stories about the busy-ness of the Gods. This set of brief tales told how over many years Ista, Bergon, Palli, Caz and Betriz were, in turn, touched or nearly touched by Gods.  
BATTER my heart, five person'd Gods; for you as yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;  
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend Your force, to break, blow, burn and make me new.

The right hand of the Daughter by Wren Truesong (waywren)  
Two times Betriz dy Ferrej chose, and changed her life forever.

It Was Enough by Sildominarin  
A look at the moments in a web of lives that all connect through one person. 

Vanil had a small problem with this piece. As originally found, the stories came in a sequence. He could tell form the marks on the paper that they had been written in one order – but for his own ease of reading, he did prefer a slightly altered and chronological arrangement. He sighed – and left it as first found. Yet again, the stories spread over many years. He could do nothing about that. He did think, perhaps, that he might chop and slice every piece of these stories into one more or less coherent whole. Then he bestirred himself – who would do that and what horrid inconsistencies might arise and – no – he wasn’t going to do it. He sighed again. 

all the words that ever were or ever will be by Tequila_Mockingbird  
"The gods held mountains in their minds, and all else besides, all at once." -Curse of Chalion. 

Vanil enjoyed these fanciful peeks into the minds of the Gods, in this case, the story was of how the Daughter ponders Cazaril and those nearby.

Five Times, in Dreams by Shanola  
What happens in the night can affect us greatly. Palli took a long time to realize that Cazaril’s soft words had been taken as a prayer by a mischeivous God.

Deathwatch by Glishara  
Royina Sara stands a deathwatch by her husband's side. 

The professsor was not alone in arguing that, after a while, who knows the exact truth of anything. Histories are generally written by the victors. 

Thrust, Parry, Cut by shimotsuki  
Martou dy Jironal finds himself in a duel of wits with an enemy he'd thought he had vanquished long before. 

According to the original notes, these were supposed to be drabbles, but the Professor was an exact man and expected the same from others. To his mind, a drabble was not nearly 100 words, excluding the title, but exactly 100 words. And for several of these drabbles, he had quibbles. His twirling mind invented a new word for the situation, he would call them quabbles. He scribbled down his new word. 

Communion of Saints by rthstewart  
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Saints can find communion but may have to crawl over rough ground to get there. There is more than one god-touched saint in Chalion. 

The professor was very happy to have the next seven or eight stories about the engagement and marriage of Cazaril and Betriz as well as the fewer for Iselle. He was of the general opinion that stories were more common for the characters of history which the public assessed as the most important – to his mind, the fact that the number of stories about Cazaril and Betriz outnumbered those about Iselle or Bergon or the two together was significant. It was interesting that there were two major collections from mrstater and from shimotsuki. He wondered exactly what their original sources would have revealed to the careful investigator.

Vanil remembered the conversation he had recently with a colleague as to whether the partnership of Cazaril and Betriz was more important than the pairing of Iselle and Bergon or, actually, whether it was the partnership of Cazaril and Iselle which was the most important. He knew which way his vote would go if there was ever a need. 

A Chalion Romance by mrstater  
14 drabbles or short pieces for Cazaril and Betriz from Valoret to their wedding and after.; although for the professor some were near-double or near-triple in length. 

Hope for Something More by sahiya  
Perhaps it wasn't wise, but now that Iselle had seen Bergon, she had hope for something more being merely content in her marriage.

Consummate by mrstater  
Wedded and bedded, Iselle reflects on how her new state has changed her.

Who Gives This Woman by mrstater  
The betrothal of Cazaril and Betriz sparks a flurry of correspondence between Valenda and Cardegoss.

Balance of Power by shimotsuki  
A single decision by Ser dy Ferrej once changed the course of Cazaril's life. Now Cazaril must ask an even greater favor of the only man who knows just how close he came to having nothing at all. 

Beatitudes by Altariel  
Betriz, on Cazaril – and the beard!

Mirror, Mirror by mrstater  
No one had offered him a mirror by which to examine the cause of all this female hilarity. Cazaril at last sees his clean-shaven face, but will he and Betriz see eye-to-eye about his facial hair -- and the manner of their betrothal?

But Keep the Old by Sildominarin  
On her wedding day, Betriz finds the support she needs from the woman who has always been at her side.

Naked by mrstater  
Cazaril's past associations with nudity threaten to interfere with his wedding night.

The hour of love approaches by Kass  
"Iselle has offered her wisdom," Betriz said, holding her head high.  
"Has she," Caz echoed, trying and failing not to imagine that conversation. He'd seen the two of them putting their heads together to hatch some ill-advised scheme more often than he could count, in the beginning. A year -- no: a lifetime -- ago.  
"She says if you can stand to go slowly, the first time, I'll hurt less," Betriz ploughed on. Her face was pink, but -- brave as always -- she didn't duck her head. "And I'll be more easily able to enjoy it again soon."

Illumination by shimotsuki  
Cazaril would like to put the lights out. Betriz would rather not.

The next stories concern themselves with the days and months at the end of Curse of Chalion. 

From Galley to Government by mrstater  
Eight drabbles on Cazaril's journey from the slave galleys of Roknar to the newly adapted galleys of Chalion’s new protectorate / conquerdom of Roknar, some years later. 

Clean Slate by shimotsuki  
A bath boy recognizes a face and discovers that he once made a grave mistake indeed. 

Summer Sonnets by mrstater  
"The Royina is a very great and powerful lady, I grant you, but even she cannot command the sun to burn less hotly." But she can help her lady-in-waiting and her chancellor find a way to cool off on a scorching summer day. Or to heat things up even more... 

Unafraid by sahiya  
The March dy Palliar had been in residence at the Zangre for nearly a month before Betriz decided she must say something to Caz after all.

Home by shimotsuki  
Cazaril has realized that after he marries Betriz, they will need a place to live. The obvious solution is not, unfortunately, the easiest one. A house is just a house but a home is better. 

A Season for Every Activity by Arsenic  
Moments of every day life and family amongst the lead characters set post-Curse.

Full Circle by shimotsuki  
Bergon's surprise catches Cazaril entirely off-guard, and potentially en-garde.

Housekeeping by pendrecarc  
The Royina Iselle dy Chalion attends to some domestic matters – as a ruler does.

A Test, a Miracle, a Curse by sahiya  
Umegat dreams. 

The professor always enjoyed stories which show the special characteristics of the gods. And as ever what a god wants is barely understood.

Helpmeet by jamjar for karihan  
A good wife's work is never done... 

Well did the professor recognise the sidelong glance that a sneering Darthacan could give the mispronunciation of a tricky word. And he was pleased that this story showed a possible benefit to both Betriz and Chalion in speaking Darthacan poorly.

The professor had reached the end of the first block of Chalion stories, those which occurred before Ista became the handmaid of the Bastard as Paladin of Souls. Which happened to eb almost exactly half of the stories he had collected so far. 

The professor had a sub-heading here for barely two or three items  
Stories before and during Paladin of Souls

Wishes by shimotsuki  
Arhys gives Illvin something new to wish for. 

After all, Vanil mused, who other than Illvin would understand a woman.

Sword of the Father by Glishara  
Arhys rides home. 

The professor recognised the headings from the Lady Bujold’s text as if Ista’s words had become a sort of prophecy. 

Gifts Out of Season by Neotoma  
Betriz, growing into her own in two sections – one before Paladin of Souls and one immediately after. 

The description on the original gave too little information for the professor’s preference. His own notes read ‘Betriz’s point of view about the events recounted in Paladin of Souls, beginning with the announcement of Ista’s pilgimage and then suddenly the news from Porifors of the changes imminent in Roknar.’  
The professor’s collection now dealt with life after Ista’s recruitment as a Saint of the Bastard.  
Stories after Paladin of Souls

On Divinity by Glishara  
Immediately after the events of Paladin of Souls, Cazaril arrives in Porifors and meets with Ista.

The Sermon of the Cups by Quasar  
Another task to round out a life of service. A slightly different version compared to ‘A Test, a Miracle, a Curse’ of how the Bastard restored Umegat to assist the newly found Ista.

As We Mean to Go On by shimotsuki  
As Ista leads her traveling court into Jokona with the first wave of Chalionese troops, she must decide how to go about filling her new roles. Several of them. 

Vanil considered the well-known references to Cazaril as Courtier, Courier, Castelan, Captain then later Chancellor, 

Glimpses after a Campaign by Gwynne  
Just a random scattering of events after the end of Paladin of Souls.

Vanil had some difficulty with the next three stories. They covered much the same period for when Iselle first meets her revived and revised mother – now a saint and with a new stature and responsibility. Not the mother of the previous years but newly complicated. 

Dearer for its mystery by Petra LeMaitre (Petra)  
After the events of 'Paladin of Souls,' Ista continues in her vocation and receives an urgent summons that frightens her deeply. 

Separate Callings by Beatrice_Otter  
Iselle didn't know her mother any more. Perhaps she never did.

A Clarity of Purpose (the Separate Callings remix) by frith_in_thorns  
Ista wonders how much she and her daughter really recognise each other, these days.

Mothers and Daughters by shimotsuki  
After the conquest of Visping, Iselle sees her mother for the first time in months. But this new Ista is someone Iselle has never known.

• In it's way by nojoking  
The timing is in the length of the pause ...... 

Generations by Seiya234  
Ista was rather pleased that Iselle kept with tradition and named her granddaughter Isara. It felt like a tribute.

A series of nine stories (Homecoming to Auturn Heart) from various sources show Ista dealing with different demons across the length and breadth of the new composite kingdom of Chalion-Ibra-Roknar. The professor knew that putting them all into one sub-sequence did distort the overall mostly chronological layout, but it felt right to do it this way. 

A Saint's Path by tuval  
Cazaril and the Fox must scheme to clear the way for Saint Ista as she investiagtes rumours of a demon linked with one of the Fox’s senior Provincars. 

The Father of Winter's Tale by estowe  
Tahir, a Roknari divine of the Father of Winter, is known for what he is not, and seeks -- a sense of reconciliation. The story starts in the late fall, early winter after the summer of Paladin of Souls.

Cortar Como Desatar by kinetikatrue  
A Royina gone astray, a holiday not celebrated, a daughter not mentioned, a path untaken, two years after Iselle’s accession.

Blessings by sahiya  
The Bastard is the god of all disasters and blessings out of season. Ista isn't sure yet which one this will be. 

Terra Incognita by minor_ramblings  
After three years' work hunting demons in Jokona, Ista dy Chalion is looking forward to a rest. She's not anticipating a new challenge, nor a visitation with the one deity she was sure she'd never speak with again.

Unseason by GloriaMundi  
The Bastard looks after his own. 

The Saint, the Scholar, and the Whale by Neotoma  
Ista in Jokona meets an unusual divine on an unusual mission.

Autumn Heart by servantofclio  
She'd always had a strange sense for the woods, and now her heart is telling her there's something wrong there.

And Tea is Had by All by Sildominarin  
During her rare visits to the Zangre, Ista enjoys the company of Chalion's newest Chancellor. In the story, Caz has been married for 3 years.

Homecoming by ScottWashburn  
Liss and Foix are to be wed. Liss fears the reception she and Foix will receive when they return to her home village. But when they get there they discover a danger far worse than anything they ever expected.  
A second version of this has the note that this is five years after their meeting.

A clear glass window, at a sea dawn by lionpyh  
Second sight is redundant to reason anyway. Umegat deals with new events, five years after he loses (most of) his saintliness. 

The Ear of the Queen by BeccaStareyes  
A tag-along on an overseas trade mission, Celena has an early morning conversation with LadyBetriz on the nature of Queen Sovereigns.

For the professor, this read as if there was some secondary source that he did not recognise, creating a strange sort of dual-strand that did not quite fit the rest of the stories., 

Going Home by Glishara  
You can never turn back time -- Cazaril returns to Gotorget. 

Out of Season by silverbirch  
Lady Ista, Saint of the Bastard, receives a blessing unsought. Really really unsought. 

Birthings by Glishara  
While on assignment in the Archipelago, Ista and Illvin's band finds some truly unexpected spoils of war... 

For Vanil, the story stretched the canon but the overall story could represent what the average Chalionite felt might happen at the island edge of the world. Again the feeling that a secondary source had been added to an original story. 

• Nobody must know by nojoking  
I prayed that nobody would know who I was. And then I prayed again. And thus prayers may be answered.  
The professor was unsure quite how this tale of what happened to a very minor character had been saved. But it gave one more insight of how the average person believed the gods reacted to prayer. 

Redemption by ScottWashburn  
Twenty years after the events of The Curse of Chalion, Chancellor dy Cazaril is visited by an old acquaintance. 

This was, so far, the last of the stories in the main Curse of Chalion / Paladin of Souls sequence. The professor wondered why there were no known stories of Isara and how the kingdom had developed over the next decades. There were no stories of Cazaril, Iselle or Bergon in their old age, no stories from their deathbed; nothing of their children. Nevertheless, the professsor had hopes of future finds. 

================================== 

Professor Reader considered the small pile of Penric stories. Their format was quite different from the others, he suspected that this was due to the humour inherent in the two crucial elements of Penric and Desdemona’s relationship. Firstly, they worked together in some considerable degree of harmony despite Desdemona being the Bastard’s servant of Disorder and Chaos. Secondly was the equally discrepant linkage of a man and several women in ways beyond the understanding of the average human – even if they themselves had a truly special marriage. And that this link was both better and worse than the closest marriage. The professor was, as yet, unmarried although he had one special good friend. She had taken especial interest in the two short stories (Boundary Issues and Relief) and had expressed a hope that more stories of the type might be found.  
Her actual words at the time had been ‘There’s some indication that this Penric might gain a proper understanding of women while he and Desdemona work together. That’d be a first!’ Her expression had shown simultaneous hope and disgust. He knew that he didn’t have much understanding of women but he had an idea that careful agreement would be best.  
He puzzled over the two longer pieces, Wayward Son and Homecoming, as they described two rather different scenarios with Penric’s long-ago once-betrothed Preita and also with his brother Rolsch. He pondered what to do. Generally, almost all the discrepancies in previous stories had either been so enormous as to take one to the edge of canon or of no actual significance. 

Feather at the Pivot Point by servantofclio  
Beginning his studies in Rosehall, Penric faces new adjustments, and wonders what purpose the Bastard has in mind for him and Desdemona.

Boundary Issues by windfallswest  
There's something Pen and Des need to work out. Set after Penric's Demon.

Relief by DesertVixen  
Some things are difficult with Pen’s new friend...

Wayward Son by DesertVixen  
Penric kin Jurald returns home for a visit after his seminary days in Rosehall... 

Homecoming by NightsMistress  
Eight years on, Learned Lord Penric kin Jurald returns to kin Jurald's lands. It's not quite thehomecoming he was expecting.

On the Nature of Miracles by Beatrice_Otter  
Even the Mother's miracles of healing have limits. 

The professor smiled. Yet another example of how knowledge in one area did not imply knowledge in another. How had a woman like Mariz, presumably an able servant of the Mother, risen to be hospital administrator without any understanding of the Mother’s power. He smiled again as he read how Berengela had been unable to teach her the simplest facts about the Gods and their powers.  
And the final pile of stories was now in front of Vanil. Just six of them. Yet again, Vanil hoped for more tales to be found. But on the other hand, it would be nice to come to an end with this work. He had gained much pleasure and found many questions as he worked through the near hundred tales. Perhaps it was time to break off and do other research. He could always return, in his head at least, to older days in the land of the Five Gods. He decided not to pray – just in case a passing pausing god might be attentive. 

In Gods' Hands by Pollymel  
‘The Gods will use Ingrey or whoever, then use you again.’ That was the note made by the original collector. 

Vanil was concerned at this piece as it talked of Saint Ista while all the other tales of Ingrey and the Weald were known, or thought to be, placed some many years earlier. If this were not a transcription error or a postscript added long after the event, then this story did not fit and should be removed. For now, he decided, it could stay. The mention of ‘a Saint of the Demon’ had its own significance and didn’t have to refer to Ista. 

Gift of the Gods by Gwynne  
King Biast ensures Fafa finds a home. 

New Leaves by vass  
Ingrey and Ijada consider the future. 

The Maul of the Weald by Parhelion  
The odd loves of man for man had their place, of course, but that place was not serving the Father of Winter.

Hopes Unmarred by karihan  
Ingrey, Ijada and the Hallow King's court are pushed to decisions. Which paths will they choose?

The Mother of Summer's Tale by estowe  
Ten years after separation (and after the events of The Hallowed Hunt), Alina reunites with husband Thorn. Both have uncanny connections: she has been made a saint by the Mother of Summer and he possesses an ancient wisdom boar. They must solve the problem faced by shamans: when one dies, unless another shaman releases the wisdom animal, the dying shaman's soul will be sundered from the gods. They have additional issues, such as reconciling after ten years, facing an attack on their town by the overlord, saving the town from famine and flood, and more.

The final pack had been read and re-read for what Vanil hoped was the last time. Every task comes to a purposeful end – and the time was now. 

He looked at the various appendices and thought again about which, if any to include. The map was the most useful. But which version. Some mapmakers had the map one way up, others had it switched – and Vanil never had understood the reason for the divergence.

The brief history and description of Chalion and the whole peninsula. The rather undocumented and perhaps even mythic early history of his nation. Best to sleep on it again. And this time, Vanil smiled, not to actually fall asleep over the piles of paper. That had been done more than once. And re-arranging the falled and scattered pages disturbed by the twitching assembler had been …. tedious. 

This was the final decision point before the tome left the professor’s grasp and began its journey to the new-fangled presses where they would be printed and set ready for potential readers. Was there anything more he needed to do?

He decided to lock the room and have a good night’s sleep. He could decide in the morning.

He slept badly. He dreamt of tasks unfinished, of missing pages, of errors in his understanding. He dreamt of searching attics, outhouses, old cupboards filled with dusty rubbish. He had no recollection of any success, but he did remember that the last dream had been happy at the end – even if he oculdn’t remember any particular reason. He woke exhausted.  
Back at his rooms, he sat and looked at the finished work. Did the dream have any relevance? Plese don’t let it be a god-sent dream fraught with meaning.  
He looked at the last few piles. The stories he had decided not to include even though they seemed close to canon and generally readabler. He had been unable to contact the authors beyond leaving a message – and all had been unanswered. 

He decided to be bold. Surely to mention the extra tales would not be a significant problem. He was all too aware how few people actually read anything other than the standard histories. The tales of Lady Bujold had the weight of officialdom behind them. They were recognised and accepted as prime material. All the works that the professor had found; they were less well documented. In fact, the professor thought, some had the flavour of fancy about them. 

Vanil looked at his notes and his own added comments. There were several sources for the 13 stories as well as what the professor considered to be a fanciful, if not barely historic, attempt to produce a history without supporting evidence. He decided that this author, he looked at the smudged lettering ‘Wikia’ was what it seemed to say. He’d already made his won corrections to the so-called timeline and to the overall view of Chalion; but he had not included much vague or mythic detail.

The professor had already arranged them in a suitable sequence. As yet he had not melded his main sequence with these other tales. He wanted to wait until he had some additional verification that this source, or rather these sources, had validity and weight. 

The first story was set at the time of dy Lutez death and was an imaginary letter to the dead lord from his lover, Roya Ias. 

Missing Because not everybody in Curse of Chalion got a happy ending.  
The next was an imaginary look at how the Five Gods met to consider the effect of the Golden General’s black cloak on the family of the Roya of Chalion and how this might be being finally set to completion. 

The Five Gods Convene Set in that breath of time between when Dondo dies and Cazaril's soul is about to be harvested by the demon. The Holy Family gathers together to decide how best to save their pawn, servant, mule, and single best hope of salvation, the poor chap.

The next story was a completely invented tale of how Cazaril’s demon might be feeling; if indeed a demon has anything approximating feelings.  
A Very Bad Day The copyist labelled this ‘A strange plotbunny’; a suggestion of the demon's reaction to his experience inside dy Cazaril.

In the Sight of the Gods A collection of 13 ficlets and one-shots. 

The Morning Lord dy Cazaril and his new wife, the lady Betriz, are journeying from the city of Cardegoss to Valenda. They are accompanied by an old friend who has not yet come to appreciate the change in their circumstance. Action must be taken. 

Content at Last It was a long road for Cazaril-and for Palli, who watched his unrequited love from a distance.

Make Love and War Set in the days after the news from Porifors, Bergon intends to take advantage of the opportunities Ista afforded Chalion in the north, and Iselle isn't about to let her husband take the field alone.

Reflected from Within Cazaril realises his ladies were waiting, again.

Cattilara and the Demon The title says it all; key decisions for and by a determined woman.

An Unlooked For Gift Cazaril listens as Iselle speaks strongly to the Roknari delegation. 

Vanil considered these last tales. Nothing he had found so far looked more than a few years beyond the acquisition of Roknar by Chalion-Ibra or the acquisition by Ista of the Bastard’s sainthood. These looked at the death of Cazaril and the implicit playfulness of the Five Gods. 

When the Gods get Greedy and Playful Most of Chalion-Ibra assumed that Chancellor Castillar Lupe dy Cazaril would be taken up by the Father when he died.

Abundance Many years after the events of The Curse of Chalion, Betriz considers her life and all the love she has for her family in a new light while remembering what brought her to this place.

Roads Cazaril did not take Several key moments when Cazaril’s progress might have gone skew.

Vanil was very doubtful about the inclusion of this wholly imaginary text. It had to be imaginary because it looked at all the many times when Cazaril might have made a different decision and the saving of Chalion, of Bergon and of Cazaril himself would never have happened. He had kept it because, being blunt, he enjoyed it and wahjted to share it with others. He did have a quibble in that the sequence of short pieces was not in chronological order – but he was an editor. And an editor is entitled to make minor corrections to ensure consistency and ease of understanding.  
The very final appendix was the draft, clearly a work-in-progress, for an Encyclopedia entry on Chalion, Ibra, Roknar, the places, the people and on and one. Parts would be useful for this tome of secondary stories. So it would be perhaps sensible to include the timeline and the ‘general notes’ as a final appendix.

A Timeline for Curse of Chalion & Paladin of Souls

An Overview of the History and Geography of Chalion and the Ibran Peninsula. 

Vanil was never that keen on appendices, especially not multiple ones. They gave a flavour of ‘I’ve done this work as well, but I can’t see where to put it in the main text, so here it is anyway’. Doing that left a taste of incomplete planning, of inefficiency which the professor was keen to avoid. There was no point in giving ammunition to those who might cavil at his efforts.


End file.
